Forge Hill Road bridge repair plans outlined

Span might reopen in 2014

NEW WINDSOR — The bridge that carries Forge Hill Road over Moodna Creek will be repaired and reopened to traffic in the fall of 2014, three years after flood damage from Hurricane Irene forced its closure.

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By Judy Rife

recordonline.com

By Judy Rife

Posted May. 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Judy Rife

Posted May. 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

NEW WINDSOR — The bridge that carries Forge Hill Road over Moodna Creek will be repaired and reopened to traffic in the fall of 2014, three years after flood damage from Hurricane Irene forced its closure.

The Orange County Department of Public Works and its consulting engineers, WSP Sells, detailed this new timetable for New Windsor residents Monday in a meeting at the town municipal center.

"We just can't understand why it's taken so long," said Donald Bigi. "I was in the Marine Corps and we built a bridge in six hours and drove tanks over it."

Bigi and 900 other residents of Butter Hill Estates lost one of only two exits from their development with the bridge's closing.

Detoured traffic was so heavy at the other exit, on Route 94, that they had to petition for a temporary red light.

Now, repairs to state bridges on Route 32 and Route 9W have snarled the detour and added to the frustration of New Windsor and Cornwall residents who used to rely on Forge Hill Road to reach the shopping centers in Vails Gate.

David Weiss, the WSP Sells project manager, assured the crowd of 30 that the county and the multiple state and federal agencies that had to sign off on the repairs were working "aggressively" on processing the necessary approvals as quickly as possible.

He explained the findings of new topographical surveys, geotechnical inspections, soil borings and structural and hydraulic analyses that resulted in a decision to repair the 11-year-old bridge rather than replace it.

"The overall condition of the bridge is good,'' said Weiss. "We did a hands-on inspection to ensure we could reuse the old structure."

About 155 feet of new bridge, including new foundations to accommodate the shift in the Moodna's channel after Irene, will be added to 220 feet of old bridge.

The work is estimated to cost $2.5 million; the Federal Highway Administration will pay 80 percent of the bill and the county, 20 percent.

Weiss said he expects the draft design to be finished this month; plans and specifications to be completed in June or July; bids to be solicited in August and a contract awarded in the fall or winter. Construction will then begin in the spring.

Charles Lee, the county's public works commissioner, said after the meeting that the risk of anything delaying the timetable at this point was "minimal."